


Don't Die, I Guess

by obsessedwithstardust



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Fluff, Not shipping - Freeform, Sickfic, but it's camp camp so like, cause that shit's GROSS, just max denying his care for david, literally rated teen cause of max cursing, whilst caring for david
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2017-08-03
Packaged: 2018-12-10 13:37:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11692749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obsessedwithstardust/pseuds/obsessedwithstardust
Summary: When David gets an extremely high fever, Max begrudgingly helps him.





	Don't Die, I Guess

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, so this is my first fic ever! Sorry if it's shit, I'm trying, and learning, so go easy.  
> Hope you like!

David made his way back to the counselors’ cabin. Well, counselor’s cabin, as of right now. Gwen was off for the week, claiming she needed a break before next week’s sword fighting camp, which was fair. However, that left David alone for canoeing camp, which sounded simple enough, but with these campers, nothing ever was. Specifically with a certain trio.

Max’s original intent was probably just to push David in the water, but somehow he, Neil, and Nikki had managed to almost drown half the camp, get all of them taken prisoner by the Woodscouts, come  _ this close _ getting mauled by bears, and force David to use his highly sentimental camp shirt bandana as a bandage for a huge gash Max acquired along the way (which, of course, he adamantly blamed David for).

God he missed Gwen.

It was now close to two in the morning as David finally trudged back to the cabin. It had taken forever to get all the campers taken care of and settled down enough to go to sleep, but he had done it. He had no idea where Quartermaster had been all day, but he was honestly too tired to bother caring. All he needed now was sleep, it’d be better in the morning.

~

It wasn’t better in the morning. David groaned as sunlight filtered into the cabin before immediately jolting up. Sunlight? Had he missed his alarm? He usually woke up before it went off, around four-thirty am. Five, if he slept in. Now it was nearly ten-thirty and David could only imagine the chaos going on without him. He swung his feet off the bed-

-Only to crumple to the floor. It was now that David was registering just how awful he felt. A splitting headache, clogged nose, his body ached and every time he moved he shook like a leaf. His throat hurt, and, now that he thought about it, he felt pretty nauseous. He felt so bad, in fact, that the floor seemed rather welcoming at the moment. He was starting to lie back down right there when he remembered the campers. They needed him right now, and by golly, he had to be there.

It took a little struggling, but eventually David was back on his feet, and walking, probably through sheer willpower. His legs still shook, and he had to clutch the nearby furniture for dear life, but he was getting there. He reached the door and practically threw himself at it, latching onto the doorknob and swinging it open with very little control.

Amazingly, David managed to stay (mostly) upright as he let go of the door and stepped out into the morning sun. He squinted and tried to block it with one hand. This was normally his favorite time of day (followed closely by sunset, then midnight), but it was hard to enjoy it through the constant throbbing in his head and the urge to throw up. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to get himself together, David started down the path to the mess hall, where he was sure most of the kids would be.

Thankfully David was correct in his assumption, and the entire student population was there. As he stepped in, David was already formulating his plan on how to break up whatever argument the magic kids were having while simultaneously getting Space Kid off the ceiling fan and avoiding Max’s latest assassination attempt (as long as Nikki and Neil weren’t too involved, he might have a fighting chance) when he realized something. The room was silent.

The kids were all there, doing pretty much exactly what he’d predicted they would be, but they had all frozen and were now staring directly at him. It was a little unsettling, to say the least. Of course, it was Max who broke the silence.

“And just where the  _ fuck _ have you been, David?”

David was expecting that comment to break the spell, as Max’s snarks usually did. It was all part of the routine now, Max terrorizing David was essentially his camp as far as the others were concerned. This time was different, though, as everyone’s eyes remained trained on David while Max made his way across the room from his table in the back, Neil and Nikki flanking him. As they approached, David could already feel the tension building, and gulped nervously. He couldn’t do this today. Max opened his mouth but the counselor cut him off. “Max, please, just give me a few okay? I promise I’ll let you yell at me in just a minute.”

The kid stared up at David like he’d grown a second head. “You- What?!” David’s pleading look never wavered, and Max silently stepped aside, watching as the man stumbled past him towards the kitchen, occasionally falling into a table. A moment or two after he’d disappeared into the back room, Nikki made a small concerned noise.

“Max… He doesn’t look too good.” Neil nodded.

“Dude, maybe we should lay off today?”

Max didn’t respond for a second, just stared after David. Then, slowly, he turned around. He was frowning, but it didn’t seem to have the usual bite. “Something’s wrong with David, and I need to figure out what. This might be it, he might be cracking. And what if he kills someone- what if he’s already  _ killed _ someone? You two go ahead, I’ll catch up.” His reasoning sounded weak even to himself, they all knew at this point that David would never do that, but his friends didn’t question it. The other two simply nodded and headed over to Preston’s table, leaving Max to make his way into the kitchen.

Max wasn’t sure what he was expecting to find behind the door, but David groaning in pain, hunched over a cup of black coffee was not it. The first thing wrong with this, Max registered, was that David never drank coffee. The next thing he realized was that David seemed like he was literally about to drop dead. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, walking over. “What the hell are you doing, dumbass?”

David jumped. When did Max get there? Had he been there long? Also, that sudden movement was not doing him any favors. Actually, it had hurt. A lot. Combined with the lights and his overexertion, David was almost positive he was going to collapse any second now. He swayed but didn’t fall, opting instead to steady himself on the counter. It was then that he felt someone grab his shirt.

One tug and David was on the floor. Max was staring him in the eyes, quite obviously unimpressed. David was clutching his pounding head and trying to get it together, but it wasn’t exactly working. A small, brown hand reached out and touched his forehead, then immediately shot back.

“Jesus fuck David you’re burning up!” It was funny, if David didn’t know better, he’d almost say Max sounded concerned. 

“I’m fine Max, really, just please try to keep it down. My head’s a little sensitive today.”

The kid gave him a look before rolling his eyes. He started again (albeit quieter) “Fine my ass. C’mon.” Max began to half-drag David out of the room by his hand.

They stepped back out into the mess hall, David awkwardly stumbling behind the camper. As they got closer to the front, David began to realize just where they were going and stopped. “Wait, Max, I gotta stay here. The campers need m-”

“ _ Nikki! Neil! _ Make sure no one blows anything up!” Two thumbs up in return and suddenly David found himself being dragged out the door. He wanted to stop, to turn back, he had responsibilities for Pete’s sake, but he just couldn’t seem to find the strength to fight the ten year old. It was actually kinda pathetic, the more David thought about it. Luckily for him, he didn’t really possess enough energy to do so, which made giving in easier.

They reached the cabin in no time. Max flung open the door and practically threw the man through it. He pushed David onto the bed and harshly told him to lay down and stay down as he began to close all the windows and blinds. The ginger found it hard to argue, especially when the pillows were  _ right there _ . Gosh, had he always been this tired?

After eliminating most light sources from the cabin, Max set out in search of Aspirin and water. Maybe a wet towel or something for David’s head, a few blankets while he was at it. Goddammit, he was going soft. Angrily, but careful not to disturb David, Max spent the next five to ten minutes going through all of Gwen’s stuff, finally returning with what he needed.

David was already asleep when Max showed up by the bed with two Aspirins and a glass of water (as well as a mug of tea, but only because he knew the ass was going to ask for one anyways and he didn’t want to hear his whining). The boy shook his counselor harshly, shoving the provisions in his face. As the man took the medicine, Max threw on the extra blankets, eyes silently daring him to say something. David simply continued to chug his water.

The second he set the glass down, Max pushed David back into the pillows and threw the rag over his eyes. “Great, now go the fuck to sleep asshole.” was all he said before walking out. David didn’t need to be told twice. About five minutes later the counselor was out like a light.

Max weighed his options. He could leave now, David wasn’t about to die in his sleep, but he got this nagging feeling every time he reached for the doorknob. He eventually concluded that it was because he was missing a great opportunity to search through David’s stuff, though he knew his real reason for staying. 

David’s side of the cabin wasn’t very interesting, really all he found were some hiking magazines, a first aid kit, twenty pairs of the same khaki monstrosities he called clothes and some of his personal hiking gear. Sorely disappointed, Max kicked a bookshelf, only to have something fall on him. A leather-bound journal with a forest green tree carved on the front, to be exact. Finally, something juicy. Max eagerly began flipping through.

~

He was wrong, it wasn’t something juicy. An hour and a half later, Max was regretting his endeavor. As David continued to sleep, he’d read almost the entire thing. It was just entries about fucking trees and shit! Stuff like “I saw the most perfect daisy today!” and “That redwood out by the front just gets more magnificent each time I walk by it.” filled the damn thing. Sketches of birds and rocks and flowers, what a waste of time. He’d even taped some things in. It was amazing, how this man could be fascinated by a fucking pine cone. Max wasn’t even sure why expected anything else, it was David for Christ’s sake.

He was nearing the end of the book now, and it was starting to get into recent dates. That one was the day with the mascot, then the Woodscouts incident, the time they overthrew the camp. Looking back through these, Max was starting to feel almost-sort-of bad. Somehow David’s entries remain positive, but the longer they go on, the more forced they seem. The entry before Order of the Sparrow- right after Camporee, is probably the most painful. He just sounds so sad and confused. After the Order of the Sparrow, they start to pick up again, but still. Max feels a little humanity seeping in, much to his annoyance. 

He glares at the sleeping man, like that’s gonna do anything, and sighs. He shouldn’t have read his dumb diary, David seems more human than ever before. It’s so easy to distance yourself from someone who’s human and only talks about trees, but it’s a lot harder once that person starts talking about emotions. Whatever. David’s still insufferable, and it’s not Max’s fault that he has to be the one to take the man down a few notches.

Speaking of being down a notch or two, it had now been two hours since David fell asleep, and Max got the feeling he was going to be sleeping for a long time. With nothing left to do, Max considered leaving, but once again found that invisible force pulling him away from the door. Finally he decided to go sort through Gwen’s side of the cabin. It may end in his untimely demise but he would do anything right now to escape his boredom.

~

Gwen’s stuff was a lot more interesting than David’s, everything from her magazines to her diary, to even the posters on her side of the wall. Max would be lying if he said he didn’t have fun going through all her shit. Gwen had a LOT of trash magazines and stupid romance novels, including period pieces only  _ Preston  _ would like. Max would flip to random pages and read them just to laugh. Before he knew it, three more hours had passed. He was snapped out of page 127 _ The Archduke’s Affair _ by a half-asleep groan. David was awake.

Max quietly got up as the man sluggishly pulled off the towel and rubbed his eyes. “I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus…” was all Max could make of the his mumbling. Max rolled his eyes, though in all honesty, he might not be too far off. The boy hopped up on the bed and grabbed David’s forehead before the counselor even knew what was happening.

“It went down. Good. Maybe now you can stop being a baby and do your damn job.” despite his words, Max’s tone was one of thinly-veiled relief. He hopped down from the bed and stood by, tapping his foot. “C’mon David, we don’t have all day. God knows what happened in the camp while you were out.”

These words had the desired effect, in fact maybe working too well, as moments later David was scrambling out of bed almost out the door, tripping all over himself doing so. Max sighed as he ran over to him and grabbed his arm, steadying the man. “Okay, chill, it’s not on fucking fire. Let’s go.”

He led David out the door and into the mess hall, where everyone seemed to be doing exactly what they had been this morning. Both Max and David were in a state of shock and awe. Nothing seemed particularly ruined or blown up, no one looked dead and no one was missing. As they stared in confusion, Neil and Nikki approached.

“Max! Finally! It’s been like five hours!” Neil went straight up to Max, while Nikki went over to poke at David, who was still processing everything.

“Did you fix him?” Nikki asked, with a couple of jabs at the counselor’s hand. Max swatted her away.

“Yeah, I fixed him, mostly. He still has a low fever, and some things can never be fixed.” he glared up pointedly at David’s now beaming face. Tired, and still slightly dying, but grinning nonetheless. “Fucking weirdo-”

Max had no time to finish his thought before he was lifted up and enveloped in a hug by the older man. “Oh golly Max, I feel just great. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.” He turned to Nikki and Neil. “And you two- thank you for watching the camp. I’m assuming it was you, considering your positions as his partners in crime. You all have no idea how much this meant to me.”

Max glowered and kicked David in the shin (not too hard though). “Do NOT look too deeply into this, jackass! I just didn’t want to get killed by you being loopy with fever, or if you died from sickness- well, a new counselor would be a lot of trouble!” It was more annoying when David just nodded knowingly.

David rounded the campers up and ended the day with swimming and a bonfire. Nobody complained, because secretly they all had worried when they found out what happened. Plus, he passed out s’mores, and they’d have to be heartless to complain after being given chocolate. Even Max, who had resolved to be more of an ass for the rest of the day to make up for his earlier kindness, ended up breaking and having fun. Of course he would never admit that.

And if, at the end of the night, when everyone was in bed, David pulled him aside and thanked him one last time. If David said he was proud of him, if David hugged him, and he hugged back, well, he would never admit that either.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are appreciated!


End file.
